Written by Brian Labatte
In the 15th century, a mathematician and astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus turned the world on its head by proposing that the Sun—not the Earth—was at the center of the known universe.
At the time, this idea was deeply controversial, even with scientific backing. Yet by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, it was widely accepted by the scientific community—and today, it is common knowledge.
We now refer to this shift as the Copernican Revolution.
Today we are in a similar position with climate change, but we don’t have 200-300 years available for people to get used to the idea and do something about it.
As Thomas Kuhn showed in The Copernican Revolution.1 Change doesn’t happen when the facts are clear. It happens when evidence and social momentum converge.
We often assume the barrier is lack of evidence.
It’s not.
And that’s where things get interesting…
Food systems account for 20–30% of Greenhouse gas emissions. It’s comparable to transportation in many cases.
Yet:
Why?
Because food is in a different stage of adoption.
Climate science is largely accepted. Food as a solution is recognized, but not yet embedded.
Three forces show up again and again:
1. “Reasonable” narratives: Balanced diets. Consumer choice. Incremental change. They sound right but dilute urgency.
2. Latent polarization: Food touches identity, culture, livelihoods. Resistance is
there but not always visible.
3. Institutional inertia: Procurement systems are built to maintain the status quo. Even good ideas move slowly.
We’re entering a 5–7-year window where:
But nothing is locked in.
This is the inflection point.
Not one argument. Not one report.
But a sequence:
When these align, something powerful happens:
Adoption crosses a tipping point and change accelerates.
Food policy may be the most underleveraged climate solution we have today.
Not because the evidence is weak. But because the system hasn’t caught up yet.
We’re not early. We’re now where change can accelerate.
The next few years will be key to illustrating that food, along with transportation, is central to climate action.
As a senior Montreal based leader in the energy sector, Brian has spearheaded business development, engineering teams, legal trade cases, and product innovation. He is a founding member of the Good Judgement Project, a prominent group in forecasting political and economic trends. Brian enjoys outdoor sports and hiking with his dogs in Vermont.